Page 84 of Between Us

I try to express that guilty plea to him through my own expression, and I can tell the second he truly accepts that we’re doing this.

“Okay, all we have to do after I clean it is use the cornstarch to stop the bleeding.” He goes on to explain to Mr. Gibson everything he’ll have to do—from the cleaning, to applying the cornstarch, to wrapping it. “Before I wrap it, I’ll make sure it doesn’t look worse than a broken nail. There’s no real way to know without going to a clinic… but if there’s nothing obvious, then you’ll be able to tell by how he’s acting within the next twenty-four hours.”

Mr. Gibson nods earnestly, still looking concerned, albeit more hopeful than he has since we got here.

There seems to be a silent agreement between Adrian and I, that we don’t often kiss each other with an audience—outside of Margo and Meera. Which I appreciate, if only because we haven’t had that conversation. But without a second thought, I lean over and place a soft kiss on his jaw. “Thank you,” I murmur, ignoring the giggling from three boys mocking us.

“I’ve always got you, Storm Cloud,” he whispers only to me. “Now, let’s see what we can do for Archie here.” His attention goes back to the dog, and I sit back, watching as he does what he was so clearly born to do.

ThehopeinMr.Gibson’s eyes dimmed as soon as Adrian got the dog’s paw cleaned. While Adrian gets the bleeding to stop, it’s obvious, even to me, that Archie needs more than what we can provide him. The nail partially ripped off, the jagged shape appearing to poke into his skin, resulting in more bleeding. I’ve pulled the boys a few feet away, sitting in the grass, but not before he mentioned that he was worried about the dog’s tendon.

The cornstarch has stopped the bleeding, which is why Adrian’s able to make a better assessment given his limited experience.

I step up behind him, after getting the three boys to calm down when Adrian made his statement. Mikey’s the only one that knows what a tendon is, but his hysterics typically cause his brothers to react the same.

Turning his head slowly, he gives me an apologetic look, and I know what he’s going to say before he opens his mouth. “Ihaveto call your dad… or the clinic. Whichever you prefer. But this…” He gestures to Archie, still whimpering in pain.

“I know,” I admit and nod. “I’ll call my dad.”

He stands and steps closer. “I can do it.”

“No,” I insist. “It needs to be me.”

He gives me a long, assessing look before he nods and steps back to Mr. Gibson. Even though I can see the reluctance in the old man’s features, he never makes a fuss about having to take his dog into the vet. I’m sure he knew from the beginning this is where it would end. Maybe he was just entertaining us.

Twirling around until I’m facing the road, and can’t see any of the people I’m with, I pull out my phone and scroll through my contacts.

After only two rings, my dad answers, “Hi, honey.”

“Dad…” I swallow down the knowledge that I’m about to be in deep shit. “I need you to meet me at the clinic. Now.”

Chapter Forty-Two

Adrian

AfterBlakequicklyexplainedthe situation to her dad, he confirmed it was okay if we picked up Archie and drove him to the clinic. It wasn’t the easiest situation, considering we had three kids with us and had walked from their house.

Even though I can tell Blake doesn’t feel great about this situation—and the inevitable conversation with her dad—she switched into crisis mode easily. We agreed that she would stay with the boys, Mr. Gibson, and Archie, while I went to get my SUV. After that, she took the boys back home to get their booster seats and brought them to the clinic in her car.

Which brings us to now—Blake and I sitting in the lobby with three very bored and anxious kids. Except the most anxious of all is Blake.

From what I heard, which is only her side of the conversation, Tim had a lot of questions. Things like what was going on, but also about how Blake found herself in this position. And even though it was a coincidence, it doesn’t seem like he believes her.

He hasn’t questioned me on anything. He did, however, ask me if I could ‘have a chat with him’ after he finished with Mr. Gibson and Archie.

It’s been about forty-five minutes when a new thought pops into my overwhelmed mind. “Hey,” I speak quietly, and knock my knee against hers. Her eyes move to mine and my own emotions are written across her face. “Do we need to call Erika or Kevin?”

She shakes her head. “I called Erika on the way here. She knows where the boys are, and said she’d get them as soon as she could. I told her not to rush. It’s my fault anyway.”

“Blake,” I whisper and turn toward her. “It’s not your fault that Archie got hurt.”

She rolls her eyes but there’s no anger behind it. “I don’t mean that. I don’t need my dad to tell me that I’ve made some irresponsible choices lately. And I shouldn’t have ever asked you to help.”

“I said this last time, and I’ll say it again—you didn’tmakeme do anything. I’m a grown man and make my own choices, okay? I was confident that Zippy was having an allergic reaction. Today, I knew Archie needed more help than I could provide. You couldn’t have changed my mind.”

“Promise?” she utters.

“Yes,” I insist, trying to stay quiet. “I’d do just about anything for you, Blake, but I wouldn’t go against my own morals.”

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